Israel has repeatedly denied reports of deliberate targeting of civilians during its wars in the Gaza Strip, those claims were once again proven false today with the release of a new report by Israeli veterans NGO Breaking the Silence.
The report features testimony from more than 60 Israeli soldiers who confirmed that not only did they deliberately target civilians during the most recent invasion, but that they were explicitly ordered to do so.
“Whoever you see there, you kill,” is how one soldier summed up the orders. He said soldiers were told the civilians “knew they’re not supposed to be there” and therefore they were to kill anyone who wasn’t an Israeli soldier on sight.
Soldiers went on to say that traditional admonishments to use “minimum force” were thrown out the window in the war, and that civilian homes were deliberately attacked “without any clear operational justification,” sometimes just because the military wanted to demonstrate their military control over the neighborhoods.
http://news.antiwar.com/2015/05/04/israeli-troops-ordered-to-kill-civilians-on-sight-during-gaza-invasion/
The report features testimony from more than 60 Israeli soldiers who confirmed that not only did they deliberately target civilians during the most recent invasion, but that they were explicitly ordered to do so.
“Whoever you see there, you kill,” is how one soldier summed up the orders. He said soldiers were told the civilians “knew they’re not supposed to be there” and therefore they were to kill anyone who wasn’t an Israeli soldier on sight.
Soldiers went on to say that traditional admonishments to use “minimum force” were thrown out the window in the war, and that civilian homes were deliberately attacked “without any clear operational justification,” sometimes just because the military wanted to demonstrate their military control over the neighborhoods.
http://news.antiwar.com/2015/05/04/israeli-troops-ordered-to-kill-civilians-on-sight-during-gaza-invasion/
The following articles give somewhat of a more complete view, and contain more of the testimonies the soldiers (from several ranks, up to major) apparently gave: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/04/israeli-soldiers-cast-doubt-on-legality-of-gaza-military-operation, http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-ngo-accuses-army-of-violating-its-moral-code-in-gaza.
It's not as if we don't already know of the Israeli Dahiya military doctrine1 of course, but this seems to go beyond even that; a couple of quotes from The Guardian article, regarding the testimonies:
"They include allegations that Israeli ground troops were briefed to regard everything inside Gaza as a “threat” and they should “not spare ammo”, and that tanks fired randomly or for revenge on buildings without knowing whether they were legitimate military targets or contained civilians."
"Ahead of the conflict – in which 34,000 shells were fired into Gaza, 19,000 of them explosive – artillery and air liaison officers had been supplied with a list of sensitive sites to which fire was not to be directed within clear limits of distance. These included hospitals and UN schools being used as refugee centres, even in areas where evacuation had been ordered. 'Even then,' explains Shaul, 'we have a testimony we took that a senior brigade commander issued order how to get around that, instructing that the unit fired first outside of the protected area and then calling for correction fire on to the location that they wanted to hit. 'He said: 'If you go on the radio and ask to hit this building, we have to say no. But if you give a target 200 metres outside then you can ask for correction. Only thing that is recorded is the first target not the correction fire.'"
Also, it's worth noting that the disregard for Palestinian lives isn't unique to the times the IDF decides to march into Gaza; civilians in Gaza and the West Bank live under constant occupation, that often sees soldiers and security forces firing against, and sometimes killing them, for no good reason. I gave a more detailed account with sources in a previous post I recently made (and a lot more cases are easy to find unfortunately): https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.11255554.
1 - A leaked cable from 2008 describes the strategy, with comments from the current Israeli Chief of General Staff, Gadi Eizenkot:
" 6. Eisenkot labeled any Israeli response to resumed conflict the "Dahiya doctrine" in reference to the leveled Dahiya quarter in Beirut during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. He said Israel will use disproportionate force upon any village that fires upon Israel, "causing great damage and destruction." Eisenkot made very clear: this is not a recommendation, but an already approved plan -- from the Israeli perspective, these are "not civilian villages, they are military bases." Eisenkot in this statement echoed earlier private statements made by IDF Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who said the next fight in Southern Lebanon would come at a much higher cost for both sides -- and that the IDF would not hold back."
" 7. (SBU) Eisenkot stated that Damascus fully understands what the Israelis did in Dahiya, and that the Israelis have the capability of doing the same to Syria. He suggested the possibility of harm to the population has been Hizballah leader Nasrallah's main constraint, and the reason for the quiet over the past two years."
